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Sunday, March 12, 2017

The Secret Bookstore by Maryann Breukelman, reviewed by Arlene McCarthy

Maryann with copies of The Secret Bookstore

Available from Amazon.comhereand Amazon.cahere, under the pen name, Magnus Fox.

Magnus Fox begins his
day chasing turkey vultures off the roof of his car, a shiny new Porsche, which he then crashes into the
back of a garbage truck. In that moment of near death, he begins to wonder if his
life has amounted to anything more than numbers and expensive toys.

The day does get better. He meets and falls in love
with a beautiful woman who gives him a business card for The Secret Bookstore
and suggests that if he can find the store, he’ll find his life’s purpose.

Magnus searches for the woman, the Secret Bookstore,
and the knowledge he craves. It is a search for love, for life, and for meaning that pits logic against the miraculous, security against risk, the impossible against the possible, and loneliness against love. But will long buried doubts and insecurities from
his past life block him from the fulfillment of his quest?

In quest myths, the forest is
a labyrinth where knights are confronted with forks and crossroads, each
requiring a decision, a surrender or a conflict. And the significance of their
encounters is often explained to the knights by an older hermit.

In this novel, Glenn, who is Magnus’s older self,
is a mentor/hermit who leads him
from the city deep into the forest, where he must confront his past and his
present. It is an experience that repeatedly tests his mind, heart and belief
in himself and others.

Ultimately, though, the novel proves to be more
fable than quest. The main character is a 21st century everyman. Magnus (ironically not Great as his name implies) struggles
with two opposing needs – his need for control in a
self-centered existence and his desire to find personal truth and meaning.

This is not a book where grand battles are fought
and won. It is a story which recounts one man’s search for truth, love, and meaning.
In a culture of disposable materialism we seem to reject interdependence:
big city apartment dwellers never meet their neighbours; religion is derided as
old-fashioned, and a deep faith in God is interpreted as fanaticism. Magnus’s
pilgrimage reflects our own craving for personal and spiritual meaning in such
a world.

The story of his search unfolds in quiet chapters where
fear, angst and tension are both real and metaphorical, and as we journey with
him, our awareness grows with his.

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Arlene McCarthyis a former school principal who turned her
attention to travelling, writing and painting after she retired. When she
reaches a plateau or stumbling block in one interest, she turns to another for
a different kind of problem solving until the block is gone. “The feedback I received in Brian” Intensive courses
has helped a great deal in the process of rewriting and revising my first
mystery novel,” says Arlene. “I met Maryann in Brian’s course
and have enjoyed reading her novel The
Secret Bookstore. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a gentle and
thought-provoking read! (Surely a good thing in these strange political times.”)

Brian Henry has been a book editor, writer, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University. He also leads weekly creative writing courses in Burlington, Mississauga, Oakville and Georgetown and conducts Saturday workshops throughout Ontario. His proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.